V is for Vast

My theme for the A to Z Challenge: Desert Canyon Living

This is the Mojave Desert in California, a vast and rugged place. The photos in this post only cover about 50 miles from the small desert town of Mojave to the larger cities of Palmdale and Lancaster. The desert in these photos is about 3,000 ft above sea level.  Death Valley, the lowest, hottest place in the United States is also located in the Mojave Desert. 

In spring, many parts of the high desert are covered in flowers. 

The sky is vast in the desert. Once I saw a sunrise here, coloring the desert pink with a blue haze surrounding the mountains. It was one of the most beautiful moments in my life. After that, I was in love with this place.

Here gray rabbitbrush line the highway.

Some vegetation looks bad with dried out branches, barely alive.

Mountains border the Mojave.  

 Buttes and mesas rise up from the desert floor.

 Highways cut through it.

Cities are built in it.

This is such a small slice of the Mojave Desert, but I think that even the 50 miles that I most often drive will give you a sense of how vast it is.